Hurricane Hunters Snap Pics of Dorian's 'Stadium Effect'

While Bahamas residents tweet videos from the eye of the storm
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 1, 2019 3:10 PM CDT
Daring Pilots Photograph Dorian's 'Stadium Effect'
A National Hurricane Center image showing the "stadium effect" in the eye of Hurricane Dorian.   (YouTube)

As Hurricane Dorian slams the Bahamas, one thing getting media attention is the eye of the storm. So-called "hurricane hunters"—daring pilots from the Air Force and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—have been flying through Dorian's eye and finding the so-called "stadium effect," Fox News reports. "This happens at times in very strong hurricanes," the National Hurricane Center tweeted along with a photo of the effect. A fairly common event in strong tropical storms, the "stadium effect" is caused by air rising quickly in plumes and moving away from the core, makes the eyewall curve outward as it rises—something like stadium seating.

Meanwhile, the NHC is reminding Bahamas residents to stay safe when Dorian's eye is passing overhead. "We have seen videos in the Abacos of people venturing out in the eye of #Dorian," the NHC tweeted. "Everyone should take shelter immediately as winds will increase rapidly and unpredictably after the eye passes." Indeed, tweeted videos like this and this appear to show Bahamas wreckage in the eye of the storm. Other media sources are gathering aerial-views of the eye as it hits the Bahamas. The Washington Post found tweeted videos like this one posted by meteorologist Dakota Smith, which shows the mass of whirling air as it strikes land. "Absolutely heart-wrenching landfall of Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas," writes Smith. "One of the strongest landfalls ever captured on satellite." (More Hurricane Dorian stories.)

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